


Another Year Wiser

by QuakesSquare



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Canon Compliant, During the five year time jump, F/M, Missing Moments, Platonic Relationships, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Steve and Natasha are family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 09:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuakesSquare/pseuds/QuakesSquare
Summary: It's Natasha's birthday, everyone forgot. Well, maybe not everyone.





	Another Year Wiser

Natasha sat alone at her desk in the compound. Today was her 39th birthday and she had nothing better to do than file paperwork. She didn’t bother celebrating this year. Last year the Starks came by, Tony and Pepper got her a custom bracelet engraved with her Black Widow logo and Morgan drew a picture of her favorite “Auntie Nat” braiding her hair. Bruce had called to wish her a "splendid day". Clint was off who knew where, and Rhodey had called from where he was somewhere in the Pacific. Steve had came by for a short while but had gotten called in at the VA, he worked late hours as a counselor and made himself available when other's seriously needed him. 

This year felt the same as always, except this time it seemed everyone forgot the redhead's birthday. Tony and Pepper didn’t send a card or bouquet of flowers and they were known for extravagant gifts. There was no call from Rhodey or even an early morning wake up call from Bruce to remind her of her special day. Honestly Natasha didn’t feel so special these days, she hadn't for years now, three and a half years to be exact. The day went on and she was alone and that was perfectly okay-_normal_-for her. She never expected anything from anybody and was used to it. She finished her paper work, watched some tv, checked on the kids at the orphanage, and finally took a much needed nap. That was all okay, because Natasha herself didn’t remember it was her birthday until she awoke abruptly to hear sirens going off. 

She got up and the sirens had somehow managed to stop. She then looked at the clock, it was nearly five thirty in the evening, _ Time for dinner _she thought. She was making her way into the kitchen when she heard a loud clattering sound, maybe Liho was running around the compound and tripped the alarm earlier and was now causing havoc in the kitchen. Instead, she saw someone bending down over the kitchen sink running their hand under the water. 

She approached the tall figure slowly ready to attack if she needed to. There weren't normally any break-ins at the compound, but every now and then a Super Fan - no pun intended - would sneak their way in to see what it was like at the Avengers Facility and since Thanos' Attack it seemed to happen more and more. Usually it'd be some pre-teen or teenager and Natasha would make them a sandwich for dinner then give them a warning telling them that it wasn't okay to break into someone else's home. Most of the time the kids that came were skinny, because their parents had disappeared from the snap and didn't have anything to eat, after she'd place them into the care of a kind person who was willing to help kids in need. She wished she could have taken care of them all herself, but between her busy job and the government telling her she wasn't fit for parenthood because of her record made her believe she wasn't. But, this time there wasn't a kid. This person was tall and lean, not short and scrawny. 

She spoke defensively. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" 

The figure turned around, it was a man his hand still under the water "Nat..." He said and looked down at the object in her hand. "Whoa Nat!" He laughed nervously, "Geez! Were you gonna try and stab me with that thing?" 

"Steve?" She sighed then put down the silver butter knife she had grabbed from the kitchen counter. "What are you doing here and what's with all the noise?" 

"Well, I kinda of forgot my keys at work and made an irrational decision to jump the fence when the gate didn't open." 

"Why, didn't you just call me?" 

"I did, but you didn't answer. I figured you must've been asleep and you were." 

"And all this?" She said motioning to the pot spilling water all over the floor.

"I was going to make you pasta for dinner." He smiled softly, "But, I burned my hand on the stove." 

She went to the freezer and grabbed a pack of frozen peas and placed it on Steve's hand. "Are you okay, idiot?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine." 

"So what was all of this for?" She asked, "You've never tried to make me dinner before."

"Well," he said and gave her a smile smile. "Happy Birthday." 

"Oh, yeah, thanks." She smiled sweetly. 

"I just thought you deserved a little more than a peanut butter sandwich today, don't you think?" 

"I don't know what to think. Everything's just been so..." She sighed and a few tears escaped her eyes. 

"I know." Steve said and pulled her into a hug. "But, it'll get better look on the bright side. Now you're another year-" He was cut off. 

She pulled away from him, her arms still wrapped around him and spoke. "If you're about to say older, I swear to you Rogers I will stab you with that knife." 

"Okay, for one I'm not scared of a butter knife. And two I think I'm the only person who isn't even kind of scared of you." He laughed. 

"You're right, that's Tony's job. He doesn't just call me "Red" because of my hair." 

Steve smiled a little wider, "Anyways, I was going to say: Now you're another year wiser. And wisdom, yes comes from _ age _, but experience is what matters the most. So, all I'm trying to say is after having 39 years of life behind you having gone through so much, you've experienced, reacted in different ways. Meaning now you're the wisest you've ever been." 

"You should talk, you must be very wise now, huh Grandpa?" Nat chuckled.

Steve scoffed, then laughed. "Yeah." 

"But, seriously, thank you Steve." 

"Of course," He smiled. 

"It's nice to have you here."

"Nat, I don't want you to ever feel alone. I know I haven't been around much lately and everyone has gotten on with their lives, but you and I we're partners, friends, _ family._ You're all I've got, so I'm not letting you go that easily." 

Natasha squeezed him tighter. "I love you Steve." 

"I love you too Nat, always." 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story. It's the second one I've written. Please leave a kudos or comment below if you like!


End file.
